


Departures

by RitWrites



Series: Radioactive Hearts [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Death, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 06:56:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4425701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RitWrites/pseuds/RitWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally Mack never could have imagined life without his best friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Departures

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a little side project I did for Without Wings. I plan on doing more of these oneshots from other character perspectives as the story and series progresses.

Wally Mack never could have imagined life without his best friends. 

They had been together since their diaper years; he, Paul, and Butch. They did everything together. The three of them had been getting into trouble since daycare, letting everybody in Vault 101 know exactly who was boss. That had been the main reason they had started the Tunnel Snakes. The three of them were tough, they were bad, and they weren’t going to let anyone or anything get in their way. Youthful enthusiasm and anger could get them anywhere they wanted to be. And whether the overseer liked it or not, _they_ were the kings of the vault. Nobody could tell them otherwise.

And then Butch had to go and fuck everything up. 

Wally could see it coming from a mile away, with the way that Butch had approached the topic of “expanding” the gang. Wally never understood why the three of them weren’t sufficient on their own, but Paul had been incredibly receptive to the idea, and Wally wasn’t interested in starting a two against one argument.

In Wally's mind, the other boys in their class were a little too naive and polite to fit in with the Tunnel Snakes. To him, even bringing in Freddie Gomez was questionable. But bringing in the doc’s kid was a different story all together.

Sure, Liam was scrappy, as Butch had mentioned multiple times, but he was the biggest loser in the vault. Probably the biggest loser in the entire world, as far as Wally was concerned. But Wally had decided to leave it up to Butch’s discretion. Butch was his best friend, after all. And Butch wasn’t stupid. He cared about what was best for the gang. Or, at least, that’s what Wally had thought.

It had turned out that Butch was stuck on Liam in more ways than one, and it would be their undoing. He would be their undoing. 

If Butch wanted to suck the spaz’s dick, that was fine. Ridiculous, as far as Wally was concerned, but he really didn’t care. But did he really have to bring it into the gang? But Butch liked him, and it had turned out that Paul and Freddie did as well. And so, he tolerated it.

Grudgingly, he watched as the two danced around one another for months, acting about as stupidly as he had expected, before making it official. He wanted Butch to be happy. And so, again, he tolerated it. But Butch wasn’t the only one of his friends to have eyes for another man, and Wally wasn’t blind to it, either.

Wally had seen the way that Paul looked at him. Ever since they were in their early teens he had looked to him with nothing but adoration and admiration. The admiration was there for Butch, too, but it was never quite so striking. 

It had freaked him out at first, and the feelings certainly weren’t mutual, but he had grown used to the affection. He never mentioned it to Paul, either, figuring that they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. If they came to it.

Years passed, and nothing had changed. Wally had figured that Paul might have given up when his relationship with Janice Wilkins became serious, but he had no such luck. Paul still looked to him with worshiping eyes, standing strong and true despite the hurt.

Wally wasn’t sure if he loved Janice. She was gorgeous, with her deep, red hair and the absolutely fantastic dips and drops of her curves. She was quiet and polite, as well: Perfect trophy wife material. But they didn’t really click. They barely talked, and most of the time it felt as if they had only gotten together in order to procreate. Wally hadn’t even been her first attempt at a pairing, as she had pursued Paul for a short while back in school, only to be rejected. However, if there was any bloodline that was sure to go on in Vault 101, it was certainly going to be the Mack lineage, as his twin sister, Susie, and Freddie had gotten engaged.

They would serve the vault, and he was fine with that. He was fine with his life. Until Liam ruined everything.

He had only gotten a glimpse of him, as Liam tore through the halls, Wally’s father banging on the glass of their living room window, as the alarms blared and the overseer commissioned instructions over the intercom. The doctor had run off, abandoned them all, letting the dangers of the wasteland pour in as he went. And it looked as if Liam wasn’t far behind.

“ _The radroach infestation is under control. Do not interfere with vault security personnel. Any resident found outside his or her quarters will be dealt with. Severely. That is all._ ”

There were bugs everywhere. Roaches, some up to three feet in length, had invaded their home, and they were aggressive. For twenty-four hours he, his sister, and his parents stayed put in their apartment. Because of this, they all made it out of the infestation, unharmed. The same could not be said of many vault residents, unfortunately. 

One of the first things that Wally saw when he finally left his apartment, were twelve bodies, lined up on a few tables in the atrium, covered by sheets until a cremation could be arranged. One of the bodies belonged to Vikki Hannon, Paul’s mother, and another belonged to Wally’s older brother, Stevie, who had been on guard duty during the crisis. Families stood about, and the air was thick with the sobs of the grieving.

By the time he found his friends, his stomach was ignited with raw fury. He was absolutely sickened with loss, with anger, and by the stench of the dead. They had caused this, Liam and his father. It was their fault. 

Susie, who had ventured out with him, ran straight into Freddie’s arms, clinging to him desperately for comfort.

Christine Kendall was already there, sobbing on Butch’s shoulder. Christine had lost her entire family in the lockdown. Her father had been mauled while searching for Liam during the attack, and her mother and younger sister had gotten caught in a fire that had broken out on the main level. Seeing the corpse of a child, even covered, tied Wally’s stomach up in knots, even more so than knowing that his own brother was among the lineup of bodies.

Paul looked the worst of them all, however, covered in bites, dark, massive bruises, and dried blood.

“What the hell happened to you?” Wally gasped.

“I’ll be okay,” Paul struggled. It was obvious that he could barely stand, “The roaches, they got into our apartment….”

“I’m sorry,” Wally replied, looking back to the corpse of Mrs. Hannon.

“Yeah. Me too. And I’m sorry about Stevie,” Paul said, hollowly, before he began into a wild coughing fit.

“Man, this is shit,” he snarled, placing a hand on Paul’s shoulder, trying to steady him.

Nobody responded. Wally’s eyes flashed to Butch, whose lips were pressed firmly together, an empty, broken look in his eyes. Wally didn’t know exactly how to read the expression. Didn’t he feel betrayed? Wasn’t he angry? The man that he loved had betrayed them all, running after his traitor of a father. Then, he noticed his jacket. It was tighter than usual, and not nearly as worn. 

Suddenly, Paul let out a moan, and his knees buckled. Wally rushed forward, barely catching him before he hit the ground. His skin was noticeably hot to the touch, and he was drenched in sweat.

“He’s burning up!” Wally said, as the other four crowded around. His heart began to drum in his hears, as he attempted to keep the both of them balanced.

“Come on,” Butch said, looping one of Paul’s arms around his shoulders, helping Wally to support the weight, “Let’s get him to the clinic.”

“I’m okay,” Paul insisted, weakly. He broke out into another coughing fit, this time with blood splatter.

“Like hell you are!” Wally snapped, as they slowly began to trudge over to the, now empty, clinic, leaving the girls behind.

With Freddie’s help they managed to help Paul onto the examination table.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Butch rushed over to the cabinets, hastily rustling through them, looking for something, anything that might help. Hands shaking, he pulled out a syringe and a bottle of Med-X, pushing past everyone to inject Paul.

“I'm pretty sure this’ll help with the pain,” Butch said, as he attempted to carefully pierce Paul’s arm with the needle.

"Ow!" Paul gasped, as Butch missed his mark, "Watch it with that, man!"

"S-sorry,"  Butch took in a deep breath, making sure to steady himself a bit before trying again.

“What do you think is wrong?” asked Freddie, nervously, “Infection?”

“Infection ain’t gonna work this fast. I think it might be internal bleeding,” Butch shivered, and his eyes began to glisten with tears.

Paul’s breathing began to crackle, and he proceeded to cough up more blood.

“Paul!” Wally moved up, heart pounding.

“Don…’t... Fuck,” he could barely breathe.

“Don’t talk,” Wally demanded, voice cracking, feeling the sting of tears coming on, “You need to save your strength.”

Paul shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle, “No.”

“Paul-”

“Wally, listen,” Paul choked out, reaching out to touch his face. There was blood on his hand, and Wally could smell the sharp, metallic scent against his cheek, “I need to tell you something. …I’ve needed to…for a while.”

“I know, Paul. I’ve always known,” Wally’s heart wrenched, and the tears began to flow, soaking his face.

“I love you, Wally,” Paul's breathing was getting worse.

“I love you, too,” he wished that he could have meant it in the same way.

Gently, Wally bent down, pressing a careful kiss to Paul’s lips. The sheer joy on Paul’s face when he pulled back was more than enough to make it worthwhile.

“Butch,” Paul reached out, and Butch stepped forward, taking Paul’s hand in his, “You’re probably…hurting right now. But…don’t blame Liam, okay?”

“I don’t, Paul,” Butch assured, softly.

Wally’s eyebrows knit together in frustration.

“Good….  If you ever s-see him again…make sure…you tell him…it’s-s not his fault  …I don’t blame him. H-he was a good friend.”

“I'm not sure I’ll be seeing him again,” Butch said, giving a pained smile.

“You will,” Paul wheezed, smiling back, “He can’t l-leave without you…not really. S-so, tell him…f-for me…please.”

“I will, Paul. I promise,” Butch said, a tear sliding down his face.

“This situation…is real bad…but y-you’ll all make it t-through…I know it,” Paul gasped, breath becoming more and more shallow, “Because Tunnel Snakes rule!”

“Tunnel Snakes rule,” Wally, Butch, and Freddie echoed. It was the least genuine thing that Wally had ever said.

Paul hung on for a few more minutes, taking his final breaths in Wally’s arms, as he pressed gentle kisses to his forehead. When he stopped breathing, he took some of Wally's breath with him, too.

After he had passed, Wally proceeded to take off his jacket, carefully covering Paul’s torso with it. He then turned to Butch, with searing, swollen eyes.

“You helped him, didn’t you?”

“Wally-”

“YOU.  _HELPED_. HIM!” He charged toward his best friend, grabbing him roughly by the collar and shoving him into the medicine cabinet. Vials fell and shattered around them.

“Wally!” It was Freddie.

“Shut-up!” Wally snarled, through bared teeth, “Your jacket, it’s his, isn’t it?”

“This isn’t Liam’s fault, Wally! If anything, it’s the doc’s! You can’t blame him for this!” Butch insisted, gripping Wally’s fists in a struggle.

Wally’s rage only flared further, spiking in the pit of his stomach, “Do you think this is a game, Butch?” he slammed Butch’s back against the cabinet again, violently, “People are dead!  _Paul_ is dead!”

“We can get through this, Wally!” Butch insisted, “We’re the Tunnel Snakes!  We can-”

“Fuck the Tunnel Snakes!” Wally growled.

“…What?”

“You heard me. Fuck. The. Tunnel. Snakes. Fuck this whole thing! Who cares about the gang? There are more important things to worry about now.”

Wally stepped back, letting go of Butch. Butch rubbed at his neck, irritated.

“What are you saying, Wally?”

“That I’m _done_. We aren’t kids anymore, Butch! This has gone on for too long,” Wally shouted, eyes boring into Butch, “It’s time to grow up! We need to do our part to secure the vault, now.”

“I can’t do that,” Butch said, somberly, “Wally, not all of us want to stay here forever.”

Wally gritted his teeth, “Fine. Do whatever you want. Your pissant emotions always got the best of you, anyway,” he turned to exit the room. He stopped beside Freddie, “What about you?”

Freddie shook his head, sadly.

Wally let out a scoff, before storming out of the room. He had to deliver the news to Officer Hannon; that he had lost the last family that he had left.

Wally Mack never could have imagined life without his best friends.  And now he had lost all of them forever.


End file.
